A divided Washington State
Supreme Court, plagued by the specter of the Green River Killer, on Thursday upheld the death penalty for Davya Cross, a King County man who killed his wife and two of her daughters in 1999.
The court’s 5-4 ruling tackled a controversial question: If Gary Ridgway, the worst mass murderer in state history, bargains his way out of execution, how can it be fair to impose it on anyone else?
The majority and minority opinions in the case diverge sharply in their characterizations of the agreement that spared Ridgway’s life.